Reed Avoids Discussing Possibility of More 'O.C.'

Nikki Reed, whose character Sadie got friendly with Ryan in a handful of episodes on "The O.C." last season, refuses to confirm or deny that she'll be returning to FOX's hit melodrama this fall.

"I can't tell you. They told me I can't tell you," she insists in an interview Wednesday, July 12, to promote her film "Mini's First Time." "I think it's implication enough."

Since a need for secrecy generally implies involvement of some sort, signs of more Sadie to come are good. When last we left Reed's character, she had parted ways with Ryan (Ben McKenzie), deciding their lives were too different. Of course, with Marissa (Mischa Barton) now dead, who knows if Ryan's Berkeley plans will change.

Reed, who is best known for starring in indie films such as "Lords of Dogtown" and "Thirteen" -- which she co-wrote at age 13 and later co-starred in -- would definitely be up for more regular TV work.

"Honestly, I love it. I love it because I can stay at home and I can drive myself to work every day and I can sleep in my bed," she confesses. "And I think that's what everyone craves in their life: some form of consistency. You know, I'm always being shipped off here with my two dogs and suitcase, like staying here for three months, going there. I'm trying desperately to have time to travel because I really want to travel [recreationally]. I think it's so important."

Besides the commuting advantages, working on the show offers a side benefit for Reed, who's working on getting another one of her scripts realized on the big screen. While she eschews being trendy or mainstream in order to be popular in Hollywood, working on "The O.C." gives her cred that will carry over into the indie scene.

"I had a discussion with my team about it," she explains. "They came to me and said, 'You know, Nikki, if you really want your script to get made, if you really want someone to give you money for this, and unfortunately, you have to compromise. You have to do something.' To be on the show that undeniably 7 million viewers a night watch ... to be recognized and appreciated by a younger audience makes you more marketable.

"And because of that I can now greenlight a film," she continues. "Not a studio film, but I can pick something that I want to do and not say, 'Let's wait for someone like Alec Baldwin to attach himself before we have money to make it.' We all make decisions for a reason. It certainly hasn't hurt me. If it doesn't have the same level of integrity, it has something that 'Thirteen' didn't have, which is a much bigger audience and money."

Although Reed has been cautioned not to give too many details about the script she wrote, it won't be semi-autobiographical like "Thirteen" was, but a project set in in New Zealand in the '60s and the '80s.

"It's been so difficult because after 'Thirteen,' it was very easy to be handed $10 million to make 'Fourteen' or 'Fifteen,'" she says with a laugh. "But people aren't so quick to hop on the bandwagon if it's not a done deal, you know? People don't want to take risks. And I'm young and I'm a female. That's the bottom line in this business."

Of course, judging by fan response, this young female would be welcomed back to the FOX prime-time soap.

"I was just in Minneapolis at the Solstice Film Festival, and it's pretty funny to me how I walk down the street and people are like crying, wanting to touch my hair," she recalls. "And I'm like, 'Oh, did you see "Thirteen" and feel a connection?' 'No, "The O.C."' That's funny."

"The O.C." -- with or without Reed -- will premiere this November after the World Series concludes.